2008 Woodie Awards
Third Eye Blind Rocks Hollinger Field House
By Amanda Warren
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Entertainment
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It is true that genius begets madness and Third Eye Blind lacks for neither of those, especially frontman Stephen Jenkins. Festooned with all the trappings of any former addict turned rockstar, Jenkins walked on stage sans shoes, and proceeded to partake in a number of shenanigans, including playing with a top hat he wore for most of the show and posing for the audience atop a platform behind the drums.
Perhaps the strangest and yet most interesting turn of events happened when the band simply disappeared off the main stage and, unbeknownst to the majority of concert-goers, made their way to a second stage located in the back of the Fieldhouse. They proceeded to play in a mini jam session, "Deep Inside of You", "How's it Going to be", "Never Let You Go" and "Can't Get Away."
They returned to the main stage, again under most people's noses, to play some of their more famous songs, such as "Jumper" and "Semi-Charmed Life," which surprisingly was not an encore. Mixed in with staple songs that we've all grown to love over the years were new songs from the band's upcoming fourth album, which carried a decidedly different message.
Gone are the torrid tales of sex and drugs; replaced with a socially political message, including lyrics about such issues as Britney Spears' meltdown and Hurricane Katrina. Although Jenkins hasn't lost his eccentricity, and alluded to his plans to drink after the show before performing "God of Wine," he took on a rather Bono-esque persona when he spoke about being together as one, urged the audience to vote and ended the show with "peace be with you."
However, despite becoming soft in his old age, Jenkins hasn't lost any of his stage presence and kept the crowd of several hundred WCU students and local patrons entertained. Perhaps more strange than the band's rotating stages and theatrical antics was the crowd at the concert.
As someone who identifies with a more "indie" crowd and listens to more "indie" music, Third Eye Blind is the one band that seems to be able to have a universal appeal, drawing all kinds of people to their shows. As I looked around, I noticed that everyone seemed to know the words to songs like "Wounded," "Crystal Baller" and "Motorcycle Driveby," "bros", sorority girls and hipsters alike.
Despite crowd/fan differences, we all were singing as one as Jenkins urged to Third Eye Blind's radio friendly repertoire. Such crowd unity is a rare thing to achieve, but with Third Eye Blind's unique songs, they are more than able. Few bands can get away with the risque` content that Jenkins inserts into his songs; delving into such subjects as hard drugs (referencing crystal meth and cocaine in several songs) and sex (see "1000 Julys"), but Third Eye Blind has found clever ways to conceal such controversial subject matter. "I took the hit that I was given/and I bumped again" are a sample of the way in which vague references to harder issues are inserted into such feel good hits as "Semi-Charmed Life."
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